Before I go on my rant, I should quantify that another couple had always had great experiences with Boris. Not this time. My group had a HORRIBLE experience w/Boris during the last week of July 2013. I don't think I have ever complained about anything seriously on this board, but I just have to warn people. Excuses were made that the "new owners" were the cause of our f'd up trip, but whatever. Ughh...training lasted wayyy longer than he said it would. The dive time took several hours longer than he said it would due to him having to pick up other scuba divers at other resorts. The dive itself was "fine", although I personally got separated from the crew and felt like I was going to have my own personal "Open Water" experience (not kidding). After we finally got on the boat and realized the TTR group was the last to be dropped off, we ended up bolting at one resort, taking a cab back to TTR & getting there sooner than the rest of the crew. Never...ever....again.
I would definitely be interested, especially if we don't get a Boobs Cruise going on while we're down there. I have my advanced certification, but I'd probably still do a quick refresher if they're having training for other people since it's been a couple years.
TRACO…..sorry to hear you didn’t have a good experience diving in July. It's always good to review and share those experiences with others to help them make their decisions. I had heard the concerns about the new owners prior to my trip in September so I was curious to see how it went. I addressed the concerns with Boris before I went diving and he said that his bosses had contracted with a different company to handle the diving and equipment. Boris generally looks after the resort course people and the certified divers are teamed up with other dive masters to dive other sites. In September I dove with both Boris and resort course divers and with a certified diving groups. Both times I dove with them we stopped briefly to pick up other divers at other resorts. It added about 5-10 minutes each way to our trip to the rendezvous point where divers are split into the certified and non-certified boats. I have dove with other operators in the Cancun area and this is not an uncommon practice. If anything, it’s a lot quicker as the boat does come to resort (or 2 min walk away) where other operators may pick you up in a van and then make several pickups at other hotels before going to their launching area. Two things concerned me with your post that I would like to clarify or comment on. I may be way off base and am certainly open feedback from yourself or other divers. Firstly….”training took way longer than he said it would”…..In my humble opinion, training should take as long as it takes to make sure that those learning have a good concept of the skills and safety measures. He is there to make sure you and everyone in the group has a safe and enjoyable dive and it’s imperative that EVERYONE have a good grasp of what he is teaching. It shouldn’t be about spending an hour or two…..it should be about making sure you’re ready and prepared to dive. Secondly…..”I personally got separated from the crew and felt I was going to have my own personal “Open Water” experience”….No way this should have happened. You should have had a dive buddy that you were paired with who you connect with constantly and also it’s the divers personal responsibility to stay with the group. The skills taught in the pool are to make sure you know what you’re doing down there so the dive master can guide the group where to go…..which means he needs to lead…..not herd. It’s easy to get caught up following a fish or looking at something but everyone needs to make sure they are staying up with the group. I have been diving for about 8/9 years and have been certified for 6 years. In the past 6 years I have logged about 100 dives. Not a huge number but I have had some experience and what I have found is that every dive is going to be unique. Each operator has their pluses and minuses and even using the same operator you will find each dive is different. You will have different dive masters who are each have their way of doing things and an even bigger impact is who is diving. Some people are super organized and ready to go at the drop of the anchor while others need to have more time to prepare. Diving is an inherently dangerous sport and safety is the most important thing. I found both times I dove in September, that safety was not an issue. One thing I have found that works for me and makes my dive experience better is that it’s important to relax. Don’t stress about being somewhere else, roll with the day, remember you are in Mexico and you’re diving! In a relaxed and calm state of mind, you’re less likely to get into a bad situation. I guess the point I’m trying to make is diving is going to be different every time you drop in. Unless the dive was very unsafe (I’ve only had that once in the Dominican) roll with it and take each dive as it’s own experience. Just my 2 pennies
Don't do it--nothing is as he said---were still alive. Boat will beat you to death before the dive will kill you. Just saying
Boris is nice enough, but the problem lies with the company they contract with. Had my C-card over 10yrs and have enough dives in the Caribbean to make diving at home just plain boring. Was there at the same time as TRACO, but didn't dive that day. Was only going to dive one day and didn't want to spend my time at 30ft, nothing personal, but a guy has to maximize his bottom time. I'm pretty anal about my gear and double check my set up after the crew hooks up the regulator. On the second dive one of our group had an issue, the crew had opened the valve only half way. As his tank got half empty his air flow got weak. Also on a shallow dive I can usually get about an hour out of a tank, but with the dive OP you go down as a group and come up as a group. I'm not a fan of hitting the top with a 1000lbs of air left. Back when it was BBG made the bag drag to PDC and caught the ferry to Coz a few times. If that is an option there is no comparison to diving in Cozumel! My experience was enough that unless I'm planning on making the trip to Coz, I will probably not pack my dive gear on a trip to TTR. Jeff
In a perfect world, I agree with everything stated above. To clarify, the training didn't *start* until well after he said it would. We sat there waiting for at least 30/40 minutes before training even began. This pushed the entire day back, losing valuable sexy pool time. I can also guarantee that our stop at additional resorts was way longer than the "5-10 minutes" you encountered. I could expand on several other points I made etc etc, but the bottom line is this: as a novice diver...it wasn't a good experience. And this is coming from someone who is pretty dang positive & enjoys trying new experiences with a glass half full mentality As I mentioned earlier, Boris came highly recommended, so I just think the new company set him up to fail that day with the resources they gave him. Our expectations ultimately weren't managed effectively in that the start to finish estimate he gave was off by about 2 hours. We were told we would be back by 3, but instead got back at 5--again, we only got back *that* early because we ditched the boat and cabbed it back. So that really sucked. Had we known it would take so long, probably wouldn't have left the craziness at the sexy pool.
The clarifications make a lot more sense TRACO. I would agree, sitting around waiting sucks when there is other fun to be had. Daphneinok, I totally agree, there is nothing like diving in Cozumel. I finished my certification dives there 6 years ago this week and we are planning a day trip down in December again. Hate missing a day of fun at the sexy pool though. Unless I'm doing more than 2 days of diving I generally only bring my reg and mask. This trip is going to be brutal with gear, costumes and u/w camera gear. Clothes may have to be in my backpack!
Had the same problem. Years back the wife (Daphne) bought me an Akona gear backpack. Couldn't figure out how to get everything packed and under weight. The BC ended up in the middle of a suitcase with shorty and mask and stuff packed in there. The backpack was packed with clothes as a carry on, padded reg bag as personal carry on item. Made it from Tulsa to DFW to Cancun without a hitch sweating every boarding. On the way back waiting in DFW food court an AA flight attendant told me I wouldn't get on her plane with that. I told her I had made it to Cancun and just needed one more flight. I was able to stuff it in the overhead every time.
i guess it depends on how many people.when i went in january one year.boris spent more time with me than he should have.boris will not let me go again.i was his worst student ever.there were 2 of us on the boat
